Reciprocity for Credentialed Addiction Service Professionals

The International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) is a membership organization consisting of over 75 certification authorities. The IC&RC promotes uniform professional standards with the commitment to providing high quality services for clients. The IC&RC promotes public protection by offering internationally-recognized credentials through testing and credentialing of addiction professionals. The organization represents 47 states including New York State. Member boards also include 25 countries, six Native American territories, and all branches of the United States military. 

Not all credentials/licenses offered in a state that has an IC&RC board are issued by that board. Additionally, not all levels of a credential/license offered by an IC&RC board are recognized by other boards. Reciprocity only applies between IC&RC boards and for the levels identified by those boards.

To check if your current credential, certification, or license was issued by another IC&RC member, and therefore eligible for reciprocity in New York State, visit the IC&RC Board Directory. If you have a credential from a non-IC&RC source or at a different level from a basic OASAS credential, email the Credentialing Unit at [email protected] to discuss the options for obtaining an OASAS Credential.   

As a member board of the IC&RC, OASAS offers reciprocity to addiction professionals who hold a current certificate, credential or license from another IC&RC member board. Addiction professionals seeking reciprocity to New York will be required to:

1. Complete a supplemental personal information form to establish an applicant record;
2. Sign an affirmation form to certify their agreement to abide by the CASAC Canon of Ethical Principles; and
3. Submit to a criminal background check;
4. Complete 3-hours of Supporting Recovery with Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT) Training. This is only training acceptable to meet the requirement.

• Applicants must first obtain an Application for Reciprocity by contacting their current IC&RC member board.
• The completed application is returned to the current member board, along with a $150 processing fee in the form of a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) Note: Checks will not be accepted and will be returned.
• Upon verification of the applicant's credentialed status, the current member board sends the application to IC&RC.
• The IC&RC reviews and forwards the approved application to the requested member board.
• The member board to which the applicant is applying for reciprocity will either forward the new certificate to the applicant or work with the applicant to meet the requirements specified in their laws or regulations governing the practice of addiction-related services.

The International Certificate is a separate certificate issued by the IC&RC. While it does not authorize its holders to practice outside of their local jurisdiction, it is considered to be a formal acknowledgement of having met the international standards set by the IC&RC. Having the International Certificate will assure that you are listed on the IC&RC’s international database of credentialed professionals that will be available in the event of a national emergency or disaster.

Over 50,000 internationally certified addiction professionals currently belong to IC&RC member boards and up to half of all substance use disorder professionals in the United States hold IC&RC certificates.